Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990)[1] is an American actress. Her first major role was as a lead cast member on the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007–09). She subsequently appeared in the independent films The Burning Plain (2008) and Winter’s Bone (2010), for which she received her first Academy Award for Best Actress nomination; at the time, she was the second youngest person to receive a nomination in the category.
At age 22, Lawrence’s performance as Tiffany Maxwell in the David O. Russell-directed romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012) earned her several awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy) and the Academy Award for Best Actress, making her the second-youngest Best Actress winner at the Oscars.[2]
For her supporting role in Russell’s comedy-drama American Hustle (2013), she was awarded the Golden Globe Award, the BAFTA Award and received a third Academy Award nomination, all for Best Supporting Actress.[3][4][5][6]
Lawrence is also known for playing Raven Darkhölme / Mystique in the superhero film X-Men: First Class (2011) and its sequel X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). Beginning in 2012, she gained international fame for playing the leading heroine, Katniss Everdeen, in the popular The Hunger Games film series, which established her as the highest-grossing action heroine of all time.[7][8]
Early life
Lawrence was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the daughter of Karen (Koch) Lawrence, a children’s camp manager, and Gary Lawrence, a construction worker. She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine.[9] By the age of 14, she had decided to pursue an acting career, persuading her parents to take her to New York City to find a talent agent. Prior to finding success in Hollywood, Lawrence attended Kammerer Middle School in Louisville. She graduated from high school two years early with a 3.9 average, aiming at a career in acting.[10][11] While growing up and in between acting, Lawrence served as an assistant nurse at the children’s summer day camp that her mother ran.[12]
Career
2006–09: Career beginnings
In July 2007, Lawrence started her acting career as a teenager in the TBS comedy series The Bill Engvall Show, playing Lauren Pearson, the oldest daughter.[13] The series premiered in September 2007 and was canceled in 2009 after three seasons.[14] Lawrence was nominated for and won a Young Artist Award for Outstanding Young Performer in a TV Series in their 2009 award show for her role, and was nominated for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy or Drama).[15][16]
In 2007, she auditioned for the role of Bella Swan in Twilight, but the role went to Kristen Stewart.[17][18] In 2008, she appeared in a small role in the film Garden Party as Tiff.[19] Lawrence had the role of Agnes in The Poker House.[20] She was awarded the Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Performance in the Narrative Competition in 2008 for her role in the film.[21] This was followed by an appearance in Guillermo Arriaga‘s film directorial debut The Burning Plain, opposite Charlize Theron and Kim Basinger. Her performance in the film earned her the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best emerging actor/actress at the Venice Film Festival in 2008.[22] She appeared in the music video for the song “The Mess I Made”, from the band Parachute‘s 2009 album Losing Sleep.[13]
2010–12: Breakthrough
Lawrence at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011
Lawrence’s lead role in Debra Granik‘s Winter’s Bone, which won best picture at the Sundance Film Festival in 2010, is often cited as a breakout performance for her.[23] She portrayed Ree Dolly, a 17-year-old in the Ozark Mountains who cares for her mentally ill mother and her younger brother and sister.[24] The performance was highly acclaimed by film critics. David Denby from The New Yorker said “the movie would be unimaginable with anyone less charismatic playing Ree.”[25] Peter Travers from Rolling Stone also spoke highly of her and noted that “her performance is more than acting, it’s a gathering storm. Lawrence’s eyes are a roadmap to what’s tearing Ree apart.”[26] Receiving accolades for her performance, Lawrence was awarded the National Board of Review Award for Best Breakthrough Performance.[27] She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress on January 25, 2011.[28] Also in 2011, Lawrence co-starred in the independent film Like Crazy, which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.[29]
She starred as shape-shifting villain, Mystique, alongside James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender in X-Men: First Class, a prequel to the rest of the X-Men film series.[30] Lawrence’s Mystique is a younger version of the character played by Rebecca Romijn in earlier X-Men films.[31]
In 2011, Lawrence appeared in The Beaver, a dark comedy starring Jodie Foster and Mel Gibson; it was completed in 2009 but the film spent an extended period of time stalled due to controversy and was released on May 6, 2011.[32] In June 2011, it was announced that Lawrence was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[33]
Lawrence at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in 2012
In 2012, Lawrence starred as Katniss Everdeen in the film The Hunger Games, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Suzanne Collins. Despite being a fan of the books, Lawrence took three days to accept the role because she was initially intimidated by the size of the movie and how it might affect her career.[34][35] She underwent extensive training to get in shape for the role, including stunt training, archery, rock and tree climbing, combat, running, parkour, pilates, and yoga.[36][37] The film was released on March 23, 2012, and set a record for the third-largest opening weekend, making a record-breaking $152.5 million in three days for a non-sequel film.[38] The success of The Hunger Games, and Lawrence as Katniss, broke the male-centric nature of action films — prior to The Hunger Games, among the “top 200 worldwide box-office hits ever ($350 million and up), not one had been built around a female action star.”[39] Forbes stated “No one who has seen The Hunger Games would question star Jennifer Lawrence’s ability to play an action star.”[40] Though the film generally received positive reviews, Lawrence’s portrayal of Katniss Everdeen was the most highly praised, with Todd McCarthy from The Hollywood Reporter saying Lawrence embodies Katniss, “just as one might imagine her from the novel” and “anchors” the whole film “with impressive gravity and presence”, ultimately calling her “the ideal screen actress.”[41] Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times stated that Lawrence is the “best possible performer as Katniss and is the key factor in making ‘Hunger Games’ an involving popular entertainment with strong narrative drive that holds our attention.”[42] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert also agreed that “Lawrence is strong and convincing in the central role.”[43]
In October 2012, Lawrence was announced as the new face of Dior.[44] The following month, she played the recently widowed Tiffany Maxwell in David O. Russell‘s Silver Linings Playbook, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Matthew Quick, opposite Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.[45] She received widespread critical praise for her performance in the film, with Richard Corliss of Time writing, “The reason to stay is Lawrence. Just 21 when the movie was shot, Lawrence is that rare young actress who plays, who is, grown-up. Sullen and sultry, she lends a mature intelligence to any role… Jennifer Lawrence is the silver lining in this mostly ordinary playbook.”[46] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also wrote that Lawrence “is some kind of miracle. She’s rude, dirty, funny, foulmouthed, sloppy, sexy, vibrant, and vulnerable, sometimes all in the same scene, even in the same breath. No list of Best Actress Oscar contenders would be complete without the electrifying Lawrence in the lead. She lights up the screen.”[47] She won the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film.[48][49]She also starred alongside Max Thieriot and Elisabeth Shue in Mark Tonderai‘s thriller House at the End of the Street.[50] She was originally cast to play Ophelia “O” Sage in the film Savages directed by Oliver Stone, but dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.[51]
2013–present: International success
Lawrence at the 70th Golden Globe Awardsin 2013
Filming for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, the next installment in the Hunger Games series, began in September 2012, and the film was released on November 22, 2013.[52] It became a major commercial and critical success. Lawrence’s portrayal of Katniss Everdeen won her praise from fans and critics alike. Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice wrote that Lawrence is “both on fire and in the process of becoming, and it’s magnificent to watch.”[53]Catching Fire surpassed Iron Man 3 on January 9, 2014, for highest box office earnings of 2013 in North America with $409.4 million.[54] Lawrence also played Rosalyn Rosenfeld, a supporting role in David O. Russell‘s crime dramaAmerican Hustle. The film, based on the FBI ABSCAM operation, is set against the backdrop of political corruption in New Jersey in the late 1970s. Lawrence played the wife of a con artist portrayed by Christian Bale. The film also features Bradley Cooper, Amy Adams, and Jeremy Renner in principal roles, and was released on December 20, 2013.[55] Lawrence received critical acclaim for her performance[56] and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress by the Screen Actors Guild and the Critics’ Choice Awards.[5][6] She won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress on January 12, 2014.[57] She also received the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and a thirdAcademy Award nomination, her first for a supporting role,[4][58] becoming the youngest actress to have three nominations.[59]
Lawrence replaced Angelina Jolie in Susanne Bier‘s depression-era drama, Serena, based on the novel of the same name by Ron Rash.[60][61] She plays the role of an unstable woman named Serena who learns that she can never bear her husband’s children and sets out to murder the woman who bore her husband an illegitimate son before their marriage. Filming was completed in 2012, and the film is scheduled to be released in 2014.[62] In 2014, Lawrence again played Mystique, in the film X-Men: Days of Future Past, with James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. She will reprise her role as Katniss Everdeen in the film adaptations of the final Hunger Games book, Mockingjay. Thefirst part of the film is set to be released on November 21, 2014, and Part 2 on November 20, 2015.[63]
Lawrence will star in and produce the film adaptation of Claire Bidwell Smith’s memoir The Rules of Inheritance, directed by Susanne Bier.[64] In September 2013, it was announced that Lawrence was to star in the adaptation of the novel East of Eden with director Gary Ross.[65] The film is based on the John Steinbeck novel and was already adapted to film in 1955, starring James Dean.[66] Additionally, she was chosen to star in Burial Rites, a film adaptation of Hannah Kent‘s debut novel, where she would be joined again by Gary Ross.[67] She will also be starring in The Ends of the Earth,[68] which is described as “a fact-based love story about a powerful oil tycoon who has everything stripped from him after he is caught in an affair.”[69] In addition, Lawrence will play Jeannette Walls in the film adaptation of Walls’ best-selling memoir The Glass Castle.[70] Lawrence will also reprise her role Mystique in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.[71] Lawrence will be starring in her third collaboration film directed by David O. Russell, titled Joy, portraying the titular character, which follows the life of the inventor of the ‘Miracle Mop’. The film is scheduled to be released Christmas Day 2015.[72]
Philantrophy
Lawrence is active in charities such as the World Food Programme, Feeding America, and The Thirst Project. She organized an early screening of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire to benefit Saint Mary’s Center, a special disabilities organization located in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, and raised more than $40,000 for the cause.[73][74] Lawrence is an official ambassador of the Special Olympics, the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with disabilities.[73][75] Lawrence has created an organization called the Jennifer Lawrence Foundation, which supports charities such as the Screen Actors Guild Foundation and Do Something.[73][74]
Public image
Lawrence’s performances thus far have prompted Rolling Stone to call her “the most talented young actress in America.”[76] In 2013, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world,[77] ELLE Magazine named her the most powerful woman in the entertainment business in 2013,[78] and in 2013 she ranked No. 1 on AskMen‘s list of Top 99 Most Desirable Women of the year.[79] In June 2013, Lawrence was ranked #49 on Forbes‘ list of the world’s most powerful celebrities. She was ranked second among actresses, having earned an estimated $26 million over the previous year.[80]
In 2014, Lawrence was ranked #1 on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women in the World list.[81] That year, she also topped the Forbes list of Most Powerful Actresses and was ranked No. 12 in the list of Celebrity 100.[82] In August 2014, Lawrence was named the second-highest-paid actress in Hollywood behind Sandra Bullock, making her the youngest actress in the top 10.[83]
Donald Sutherland compared Lawrence to Laurence Olivier and also described her as an “exquisite and brilliant actor.”[84] Film director David O. Russell has praised her effortless acting that make her performances look easy.[85] Lawrence was never involved with theater and did not take acting classes.[10] She stated, “I’ve always studied people and been fascinated by their reactions and feelings. And I think that’s the best acting class you can take – watching real people, listening to them and studying them.”[86]
The same week, Lawrence was recognized as the highest-grossing action heroine of all time in the 2015 edition of the Guinness World Records for the role of Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games franchise.[87]
Personal life
Lawrence began dating Nicholas Hoult in 2011 after filming X-Men: First Class, but they ended their relationship in January 2013 after two years of dating. They reconnected six months later in July 2013, after filming X-Men: Days of Future Past together.[88] The couple reportedly separated in August 2014, with sources stating different work schedules to be an issue.[89] Lawrence and Chris Martin from Coldplay were reported to bring their romance to the public on September 11, 2014. The couple is said to have started dating during the summer, after Martin separated from Gwyneth Paltrow.[90]
On August 31, 2014, nude photographs of Lawrence leaked online as part of the 2014 celebrity photo leaks, believed to be obtained from her iCloud account by a hacker. Lawrence confirmed that the photographs were real.[91]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Garden Party | Tiff | |
| 2008 | The Poker House | Agnes | |
| 2008 | The Burning Plain | Mariana | |
| 2010 | Winter’s Bone | Ree Dolly | |
| 2011 | Like Crazy | Sam | |
| 2011 | The Beaver | Norah | |
| 2011 | X-Men: First Class | Raven Darkholme / Mystique | |
| 2012 | The Hunger Games | Katniss Everdeen | |
| 2012 | House at the End of the Street | Elissa Cassidy | |
| 2012 | Silver Linings Playbook | Tiffany Maxwell | |
| 2013 | The Devil You Know | Young Zoe Hughes | Filmed in 2007[92] |
| 2013 | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire | Katniss Everdeen | |
| 2013 | American Hustle | Rosalyn Rosenfeld | |
| 2014 | X-Men: Days of Future Past | Raven Darkholme / Mystique | |
| 2014 | Serena | Serena Pemberton | Post-production |
| 2014 | Dumb and Dumber To | Young Fraida Felcher | Cameo Post-production |
| 2014 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 | Katniss Everdeen | Post-production |
| 2015 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 | Katniss Everdeen | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Monk | Mascot[93] | |
| 2006 | Company Town | Caitlin | Unsold TV pilot |
| 2007 | Cold Case | Abby Bradford | |
| 2007 | Not Another High School Show | Frantic Girl | Unsold TV pilot |
| 2007–08 | Medium | Claire Chase / Young Allison | 2 episodes |
| 2007–09 | The Bill Engvall Show | Lauren Pearson | 30 episodes |
| 2013 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: “Jennifer Lawrence/The Lumineers“ |
Accolades
Lawrence has received three Academy Award nominations throughout her career. For her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, she earned the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role.[94] She also has received four Critics’ Choice Movie Awards for her work in Silver Linings Playbook, The Hunger Games, and American Hustle.[95][96] She earned a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook and another for American Hustle.[97][98] She has won two Screen Actors Guild Awards for her performances in Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.[99][100] In 2014, Lawrence won her first BAFTA Award for her performance in American Hustle.[58]
SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA
MCBNFORC 